The National Court determines that when the termination of the employment relationship occurs on a Friday, the worker has the right to payment of wages for the five days actually worked and the proportional part corresponding to Saturday and Sunday. The court rejects the argument of the companies that defend that the monthly salary already includes weekends and that, therefore, nothing extra needs to be added to the settlement.
According to the ruling, which can be consulted at this link Judiciarythe CGT, CCOO and UGT unions are agreed, which denounced a technology company for not including this money in salary settlements, that is, in the payroll. The ruling forces the company to stop doing so and, in addition, to return what it stopped paying in the settlements of the last year, counting from January 16, 2026, the date on which the unions requested mediation before the SIMA.
An interest of 10% per year must be added to these late amounts, as stated in article 29.3 of the Workers’ Statute (when your payroll is paid late or remuneration). The problem came from a common practice of the company, which was to pay only for the days actually worked in the last week before departure, without paying for the days of rest that that work had generated.
The legal nature of weekly rest
To understand it, you have to know that the court relies on two articles of the Workers’ Statute. Article 37.1 recognizes workers the right to rest at least a day and a half a week, and article 26.1 requires payment for this rest at the same level as the rest of the day. The Chamber explains that the salary for seven days a week is earned by working five and a half days, that is, each day worked includes a small part of the weekend rest.
In this sense, the National Court ends by saying that the weekly rest is not earned all at once upon reaching Sunday, but is accumulated day by day. Therefore, if a worker ends his contract on a Friday, he must collect both the days worked and the proportional part of Saturday and Sunday, regardless of whether his payroll is daily or monthly.
The monthly salary does not exempt you from paying the rest
The court rejects the company’s argument that, by paying the same amount each month, the payment for Saturdays, Sundays and holidays would already be included. The ruling states that “the fact that the company, by collective agreement… or simply by continued business practice, decides to pay the same amount monthly does not deprive the weekly rest of its nature and the obligation to pay it.”
Likewise, the National Court reproaches the company for not presenting contracts, work calendars or any other document that would demonstrate that this way of paying was correct. Without such evidence, the court cannot accept that it is a valid practice.
However, the ruling first rejects an attempt by the company to overthrow the case due to formal defects, alleging that each settlement should be reviewed individually and not through a collective dispute. The resolution is not yet final and the company can appeal to the Supreme Court within a period of five business days from being notified.